NBA rumors: Paul George may not leave a winner in Oklahoma City
By John Buhler
Paul George could sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, but it might be difficult for him to leave a winning situation with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the hours before the start of 2017 NBA free agency, the Oklahoma City Thunder made a blockbuster trade with the Indiana Pacers for All-Star small forward Paul George. All the Thunder had to give up was shooting guard Victor Oladipo and power forward Domantas Sabonis.
It wasn’t a huge return for the Pacers, but do keep in mind that George is playing on the final year of his contract. George made it known to the Pacers that he wasn’t going to re-sign with Indiana in 2018 NBA free agency. He had his eyes set on playing for his hometown Los Angeles Lakers.
That made dealing George incredibly difficult for new Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard, but landing Oladipo and Sabonis gives his club two solid rotational players for Indiana’s ensuing rebuild.
While many expect George to only play one year with the Thunder, The Vertical’s Chris Mannix reports on behalf of one anonymous NBA executive, “If the Lakers think Paul George is going to walk away from a winner…I wouldn’t count on it.”
Per one NBA team exec: "If the Lakers think Paul George is just going to walk away from a winner...I wouldn't count on it."
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) July 1, 2017
Though the Lakers could be a good team in a few years, assuming Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram harness their potential star power, George has never played with a player half as good as Russell Westbrook. He is the reigning NBA MVP after averaging a triple-double.
Frankly, the best player that George had in Indiana was his point guard George Hill, who was traded to the Utah Jazz last summer in a three-team deal with the Atlanta Hawks. Oklahoma City should still be stout on the glass even with the loss of Sabonis. Oladipo was more of a work in progress than anything in Oklahoma City after doing whatever he did with the Orlando Magic.
In short, George might actually like playing with Westbrook in Oklahoma City. It’s all about basketball and Oklahoma Sooners football in that town. An electric home crowd and being able to win 50 games a year might be too hard to walk away from for the rebuilding Lakers.